Harry Belafonte is back again in the same year as Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) this time instead of a gun, he carries a Geiger Counter! Harry stars as coal miner Ralph Burton in this brillianty theatrical named film, The World, the Flesh and the Devil.
Tagline – It Will Grip Your Imagination As No Film Has Ever Done Before!
Whatever reason did I have to watch The Heroic Trio do you think? Well it does feature three of the most beautiful Hong Kong action cinema stars in the same movie playing superheroes. Michelle Yeoh (Invisible Woman), Anita Mui (Wonder Woman) and Maggie Cheung (Thief Catcher), this movie should of been called The Heavenly Trio. Continue reading
My, “what way will Robert Ryan go today?“, will he be a goody or baddy? That mystery went straight out the window in the first few minutes. As soon as he appears, in a washed out, oversaturated black and white shot, emerging on the city street, you get a sense of this man. He’s playing Earle Slater, a washed up southern war veteran who’s turned to crime. He’s savagely prejudice and filled with toxic racism, he’s angry and desperate to make some serious dough. He’s up for any manner of big payout as long as it plays out to his ideals. Ex cop David Burke (Ed Begley) has one of those perfect plan’s, money for the taking, easy money, Earle Slater takes notice. Continue reading
Much like Peter Parker gets his Spidey sense, I experience a similar sensation, whenever danger arises in the area my hair stands on end. Much like I’ve touched one of those electric static balls. It might be a great addition to my crime fighting skills against the evildoers of the world but to be honest I look absolutely ridiculous! How can I tussle with the bad guys when I look like one of the hair bear bunch, rather than a terrifying wolf? Well I burst out into fur ball mode again but I was ready. I knew something bad was going down as I pulled out my most prized weapon from my utility belt, a water spray bottle to calm those hairs. I can’t fight proper looking way too cute.
Yep I know, how could I have not seen Touch Of Evil yet? A slapped botty for sure but hey maybe it was all leading up to this viewing. A viewing that hit me like a strong swig of Tequila, hitting that sweet spot. Everyone has seen it, so I won’t do a rough description of the plot or what I thought of the film because that is self-explanatory. So here’s ten points that blew me away with awe and wonder. Continue reading
In a world, some time soon, four heroes embark on treacherous mission to help put back the time continuum that was unleashing strange pockets of weird paranormal activity. Tyrant Overlord, The Lord Of Terror had changed the Earth’s magnetic fields, spewing electro charged particles in through VHS cassette tapes across the continents. Video cassettes that had lain dormant for many years, gathering dust and mould in basements and loft spaces, charity shops and movie vaults, started to react to the electronic waves. Spontaneously bringing to life characters that shouldn’t be in the same timeline together. Continue reading
Could this be the only film centred around the life of the female penitentiary system to get nominated for the Academy Awards? This 1950’s film, Caged, showing the cutthroat everyday life of a women’s prison managed to have three stabs at the Oscar. Best Actress in a Leading Role Eleanor Parker beaten by Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday. Best Actress in a Supporting Role Hope Emerson beaten by Josephine Hull in Harvey. Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Virginia Kellogg & Bernard C Schoenfeld beaten by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D M Marshman Jr with Sunset Boulevard. Now with that said there was some tough competition in those nominee categories and truth be told Caged isn’t as good as them but it sure is blooming fantastic.
Tagline – Will she come out a woman or a wildcat?
I know now that it was irresponsible and reckless of me but it seemed the best way to introduce the Steven Spielberg classic shark movie Jaws to my two children Nyah (17) and Kofi (15). Getting both to help me in the garden they gave me that usual puzzled stare, the gaze of “what on earth is the mad man up to now?” as I placed the hosepipe through the back door and turned on the tap.
“Mum’s gonna go ballistic! like that time with the crazy rocket you made with 300 odd bottles of coke strapped together! Half the street was covered Dad” I look at them with a cheeky smile and started pumping up the dinghy! Then I remembered the window cleaning bill and the wasp invasion. “It was fun though wasn’t it?” I tentatively reply as I kept pumping air in the boat. “Put these on” as I throw them wetsuits, flippers and masks. They both look at each other somewhat perplexed “Oh no here we go again!”
As we squeezed into the dinghy in our gear, Kofi says the golden words without even knowing the quote “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” I laugh excitedly “It cosy, hold on we’re getting ready“. Little did they know I had already filled a 100 gallon drum with water behind us. Reaching down I pulled the trigger on the water drum “Hold on tight the feature presentation is about to start“. With wild frenzied screams of pure hysteria we took off down the garden path, shooting down the stairs in through the kitchen back door.
With the fun gods looking after our journey we somehow made it into the kitchen in one piece. The cascade of water was pretty intense though it had mellowed as we hit the hallway, releasing our panicked faces to a calming smile. The torrent of water had caused an ebb and flow like tide which bopped us up and down. The hallway river had risen alarmingly to halfway up the door height but with a little maneuvering we popped in the lounge. Thinking ahead of time, I’d already hung everything from the ceiling, bags of popcorn and other snacks dangled from string and cans of drink floated around on mini boats. As I’d fixed the telly to the ceiling we could just mellow, grabbing the TV remote control I pressed play and the movie began as the dinghy slowly swirled around.
When the movie finished I looked over to see what they thought, still a little dazed they replied with two thumbs up and a smile. Just before they could say anything a figure walked up to the front door with a key! “OH shit it’s Mum home! Nooooo don’t open the door!“. As the tsunami of water was released out the door it caused an incredible whirlpool in the lounge. We tried to stay calm as the carnage erupted around us but it was an impossible task. Our uncontrollable petrified screams followed us as we burst out the door with a furious Louise joining us in the tiny dinghy, off down the road we went.
Massive respects goes out to Sir Todd over at his truly great movie site Cinema Monolith for inspiring me to revisit Jaws. He went positively Jaws bonkers, pop over and check his superb writings that shine his big love and affection for this classic movie. Yeah we all know the film but he unearths so much more than you can possibly imagine.
Have fun watching movies…. Mikey Wolf
PS Jaws was a success, both very much enjoyed the fishy tale with a bite. The batten has been passed on to the next generation. Till the next film.
I can only imagine the heart, soul and passion associated with ice hockey within the inner core of most Canadians. So it was a real pleasure to read a quote inside the pages of Jeff Lemire’s comic book Essex County from academic writer and humorist Stephen Leacock (1869/1944). It gave me a sense of the attachment, devotion and importance the sport must have, opening up my mind and adding context to this most excellent read.
Hockey captures the essence of Canadian experience in the New World. In a land so inescapably and inhospitably cold, hockey is the chance of life, and an affirmation that despite the deathly chill of winter we are alive. Stephen Leacock
Well I went into this in my usual innocent way completely oblivious to the plot. There I was thinking that maybe the title The Third Secret was somehow contected to Nazi’s and the Third Reich, kind of like a spy hunt for war criminals. Yep it had absolutely nothing to do with that I quickly find out. What does transpire though is a neat little bizarre thriller with psychological mystery buried deep inside. Continue reading
Wolfmans Cult Film 